Today is author J.R.R. Tolkien’s birthday. He would have been 118. Born on Jan. 3, 1892 (died Sept. 2, 1973), John Ronald Reuel Tolkien became a famous English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor. He is best known as the author of the classic fantasy works The Hobbitand The Lord of the Ringstrilogy. Indeed, he has been called the “Father of Modern Fantasy Literature”.

It is well known that Tolkien’s closest friend was fellow-author and Christian convert C.S. Lewis. Mormons Love C.S. Lewis. He is considered one of the most quoted non-LDS authors over an LDS pulpit – and likewise, J.R.R. Tolkien is admired no less.

Second President of the LDS Church Brigham Young said that “much … knowledge is obtained from books, which have been written by men who have contemplated deeply on various subjects, and the revelations of Jesus have opened their minds, whether they knew it or acknowledged it or not.” (Journal of Discourses 12:116, emphasis added.)

The Prophet Joseph Smith was admonished that we need to seek “out of the best books words of wisdom…seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” (D&C 88:118.) The Lord further urged that we need to “study and learn, and become acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues, and people.” (D&C 90:15.)

A brief search on lds.org offers a few examples of Mormons honoring J.R.R. Tolkien:

We may not be able to fix the whole world, but we can strive to fix what may be amiss in our own families. Tolkien reminds us:

“It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule” (The Return of the King [1965], 190).

2. LDS-owned Brigham Young University holds a large annual Women’s Conference. The 1983 Conference chose a quote by Tolkien as their theme:

All that is gold does not glitter,Not all those who wander are lost,The old that is strong does not wither,Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
(J. R. R. Tolkien, from The Fellowship of the Ring.)

The theme was addressed thoughtfully and creatively by students, educators, and General Authorities alike in a wide variety of addresses, workshops, and opportunities for learning attended by over two thousand participants.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell was one of the conference’s speakers, and expanded the theme’s message.

“Your Tolkien theme, ‘Deep roots are not reached by the frost,’ might well have had added to it, ‘nor are they scorched by the sun.’ Jesus described the realities of that scorching sun when he talked in these terms: ‘And some fell upon the stony places, where they had not much earth, and forthwith they sprung up because they had no deepness of earth. And when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away.’ (Matt. 13:5–6.)”

“In our own lives, the heat will come—not alone in the rigors of daily life, but also in the special summer of circumstance at that point in history when the leaves of the fig trees sprout. The anticipated summer is upon us, and only those who are (to cite Peter and Paul’s adjectives) ‘grounded, rooted, established and settled’ will survive spiritually. (See Eph. 3:17; Col. 1:23; Col. 2:7.)”

“[C.S. Lewis puts] the gospel in a nongospel context. And he’s not writing just for a religious audience. He’s accepted out there in the real world. I found the same thing with J. R. R. Tolkien. This happened while I was in college. The fact that their fantasy was considered as a viable kind of expression gave me the courage to say, “Why don’t I try to do the same sort of thing visually and see what happens?”

And last, but not least, Mormon Soprano raises her own toast. I have always loved the following words of Tolkien wisdom:

Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes: in the sense that almost certainly (in a more perfect world, or even with a little more care in this very imperfect one) both partners might be found more suitable mates. But the real soul-mate is the one you are actually married to. (J. R. R. Tolkien, Letter to Michael Tolkien, March 1941)

Like this:

Related

11 thoughts on “Mormons Honor Tolkien”

Tolkien has had a big influence on me. Here is one of my favorite Tolkien quotes:

“I would say that Tragedy is the true form of Drama, its highest function; but the opposite is true of Fairy-story. Since we do not appear to possess a word that expresses this opposite—I will call it Eucatastrophe.

The Gospels contain a fairy-story, or a story of a larger kind which embraces all the essence of fairy-stories. They contain many marvels—peculiarly artistic, beautiful, and moving: “mythical” in their perfect, self contained significance; and among the marvels is the greatest and most complete conceivable eucatastrophe. But this story has entered History and the primary world; the desire and aspiration of sub-creation has been raised to the fulfillment of Creation. The Birth of Christ is the eucatastrophe of Man’s history. The Resurrection is the eucatastrophe of the story of the Incarnation. This story begins and ends with joy. It has pre-eminently the inner consistency of reality. There is no tale ever told that men would rather find was true, and none which so many skeptical men have accepted as true on its own merits. For the Art of it has the supremely convincing tone of Primary Art, that is, of Creation. To reject it leads either to sadness or to wrath….

But this story is supreme; and it is true. Art has been verified. God is the Lord, of angels, and of men—and of elves. Legend and History have met and fused.”

Max – That is a fascinating and thought provoking quote. I can’t say I’ve ever heard the term “eucatastrophe” before. That certainly illustrates Tolkien’s creativity with language. This quote also gives deep insight into his faith in Christ. Thanks for sharing!

One of my favorite Tolkien quotes is the one you cited as quoted by Elder Maxwell. I had no idea Elder Maxwell had highlighted that quote and now that you have pointed it out, it has gained an extra measure of meaning for me. My wife and I both dearly miss Elder Maxwell.

Though my pen name would suggest otherwise, I would argue that the books that have had the heaviest impact on my imagination outside of the Scriptures have been The Lord of the Rings. I appreciate your post. A belated happy birthday to Professor Tolkien indeed!

Jim: Thank you for reading and for your comment. I am very glad that you feel JRRT is a wonderful author, I wholeheartedly agree. I am baffled by your second comment. Accusing Tolkein as a “rabid anti sematic [semitic?]” is misguided. Tolkien vocally opposed Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party prior to the Second World War, and was known to especially despise Nazi racist and anti-Semitic ideology. In 1938, the publishing house Rütten & Loening Verlag was preparing to release The Hobbit in Nazi Germany. To Tolkien’s outrage, he was asked beforehand whether he was of Aryan origin. In a letter to his British publisher Stanley Unwin, he condemned Nazi “race-doctrine” as “wholly pernicious and unscientific”.

Mo Map

Legal Stuff

This is a personal website. Any opinions expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the contributor. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint any excerpts or photos should always be given in writing first.